VHS Lives! DIARY OF AN EROTIC MURDERESS (1974)

With a title like that, you just know this film is crying out for a DVD release but so far no such luck. Given the pedigree of some of the talent involved though, it's probably only a matter of time before some enterprising DVD company adds it to their Euro-cult slate though.

Like yesterday's DR BLACK, MR HYDE (okay, it was actually two days ago - sorry), this tape is yet another NTSC copy from the USA (released, appropriately enough, by the wonderful people at Something Weird Video - a favourite company of mine), although the film is Italian/Spanish in origin.

The story concerns an old man (Richard Conte) who hires a beautiful young woman (Marisa Mell) to look after his son (Anthony Steffen). Just to make things more interesting though, the woman secretly seduces the son, the son happens to be mad, and the old guy happens to be very rich, something that the young woman is banking on.

It's got a decent cast but the stars are undoubtedly Mell and Steffen.

Steffen was the star of numerous cult Italian movies, particularly spaghetti westerns (yes, I'm a fan) but also, notably, THE NIGHT EVELYN CAME OUT OF THE GRAVE. I mention this film in particular because, with its blend of insanity, sleaze, a big house, a sinister woman, and a seriously mind-bending story, it's a very similar movie to this one.

Mell, a favourite of mine, has also starred in several cult European movies. Most notably she appeared in Mario Bava's classic comic caper DANGER: DIABOLIK!, undoubtedly one of the main inspirations for the AUSTIN POWERS movies. She has also graced such films as BEN AND CHARLIE (a rubbish spaghetti western which improved for the few minutes she was on screen) and several other cult classics which, rather annoyingly, I've just forgotten. Well, except for one other one, but I'll not mention that because it's going to feature in this series.

Sinister though Mell's character may be, you can almost forgive some of her actions given that she is systematically mistreated at least once by every man in the film. It almost makes it acceptable that her sole mission seems to be to get rich off the suffering of men.

I already mentioned the EVELYN connection, and it's fair to say there's a similar kind of vibe to YOUR VICE IS A LOCKED ROOM AND ONLY I HAVE THE KEY, another Euro-cult classic that boasts a suitably crazy title and totally insane storyline. The story this time round involves sex, murder, the corpses of the Templar Knights (seriously) and yes, even the titular diary, all of which brew away in a delightful cauldron of Eurosleaze, served with a side order of lounge-tastic "oooh aaaah" music and garnished with a fantastically nutty ending. Marvellous.

Oh yeah, and one more thing I just remembered. BEAST WITH A GUN. That's another cult Italian movie that Marisa Mell appeared in. Just in case you were wondering.

More VHS goodness tomorrow!